Skunked at Max Patch Bald

The Workout:
none :o(

This morning, the Hagberg's charged out of bed, whipped up some PB&J sandwiches and loaded our packs with a few waters, spare clothes and treats. The destination was a high mountain field called Max Patch Bald, near Hot Springs, NC and very close to the Tennessee border in the North-most area of the Smoky Mountain range. Skies to the North and West were looking pretty cloudy and windy but the weather was forecast to hit the high 60s and be clear and sunny so we jumped in the car and rolled out.

We headed out Highway 40 to exit 7, near the Pigeon River and turned North up Forest Service road 148. This road headed up into the mountains. Up. Up. Up and more up for 7 miles dumping us off at the Max Patch parking area. When we got there we were completely socked in with fog and the Vibe showed an outside temperature of 33F. We downed some sandwiches and decided to give it a go anyway. Bethany rounded up some socks for her sandal clad feet and we broke into a trash bag of old clothes to find Ellie a spare pair of pants.

We popped over the stairs that crossed over the gate and paused for a quick picture. Ellie had no interest in poking her head out from under the blanket so we let her be. A few minutes of walking and the writing was on the wall... We just weren't prepared for the cold and windy gusts on the Bald. We paused to take some pictures of Bethany sticking her beautiful pregnant belly out into the wind and scampered back to the car.

On the way back down the mountain we took a deviation down the Hot Springs watershed. After descending 1,000 ft or so the temperature got up to around 40. We stopped at a cool little campsite and walked down to the creek to throw in rocks and sticks (Ellie's favorite past time). After that we piled back into the car and cruised down 40 miles of very winding mountain roads in backwoods Appalachia.

Bethany and Ellie slept the second half of the ride home but I got to check out some old paddling spots on the way. It was a bust for the most part but we enjoyed each other's company and all agree that we'll have to hit up this hike this summer when it is too hot to hike in the low lands.